How Long Does a Burn Hurt?

This is embarrassing. I burned my hand on the car radiator.

I disregarded the warning label on the radiator cap and removed the cap before it had cooled down. Boiling hot water and steam shot up and outwards, burning three of my fingers.

I needed to get my hand in cold water as soon as possible.

I was right next to a gas station water pump, but the damn thing was coin-operated. I ran inside to the soda fountain and let a cold river of Sprite flow over my hand and fingers. Next, I filled up a cup with ice and Sprite and dunked my hand inside.

I approached the counter looking like a guy halfway through a soda pop spa treatment. The guy at the counter didn't even flinch.

I drove home with my hand in the 44 ounce ice bath.

I was worried. My hand was bright red. If I took it out of the water for more than 10 seconds, it started to throb painfully. I took a couple of ibuprofen and surveyed the supply of ice in the freezer. If I ran out of ice, I would be spectacularly screwed.

The ibuprofen didn't do much to kill the pain, the status remained: If I removed my hand from the ice water, it started to hurt in about 10 seconds. At 10pm, two hours had passed and I was contemplating a long night of burn site maintenance.

The Emergency Room Question
I wondered, should I go to the emergency room? Was my hand seriously damaged, and could a trip to the hospital save it from permanent injury? I wanted to know.

Unfortunately, the emergency room is a really expensive option. A visit to the emergency room in February had resulted in bills of $2,200. I couldn't afford another $2,200 emergency. I decided to wait it out.

Sleeping
At around midnight, Stacy dug up a forgotten Darvocet and I took it. I figured out a way to lay in bed with my hand in a bowl of ice. I struggled to sleep. If my hand was completely motionless in the water, the water closest to my skin warmed up just enough to let the pain through. I just had to mix the water with my hand a bit to break up this warm layer, but it kept me from drifting to sleep.

Finally, at around 2 am, I fell asleep.

Morning
At seven in the morning, the pain was gone! Totally gone! Oh my God, thank God.

Was the Darvocet still killing the pain? I don't think so. It was completely gone, and never came back, unless I ran my hand under hot water or something.

So the answer to the question is, if you burn your hand with hot water and steam from an overheating engine, it might take about 10 hours for the pain to stop. I hope you have enough ice, and I hope you have a Darvocet.

Slightly Gruesome Blister Photos Below
The tops of three of my fingers were painfully burned and blistered. Although, by the time the blisters were formed, they weren't painful any longer.